Mall Day
by GhostofaGirl15
Summary: JT and Manny spend a day at the mall together. Fluff ensues. JT/Manny. VERY slight Craig/Ashley. Oneshot.


Manny Santos sat on a bench at the mall, waiting for her boyfriend (and best friend), JT Yorke, to get there. They were supposed to be hanging out today, but -as usual- JT was running late. The young brunette girl honestly had no idea of what she saw in JT. Sure, he was sweet, fun to be around, made her feel special, unlike Craig had and cute in a boyish kind of way, but he was also, goofy, immature, and she had known him forever. She didn't realize why her feelings had suddenly changed (or were changing) for the brunette boy.

A moment later, she saw JT walking through the mall, looking for her. She smiled to herself and stood up, before walking over to him and tapping his shoulder. He spun around to see who had tapped him, and his face lit up when he saw the girl. He smiled hugely. "Hey, sorry I'm late. My grandma was finishing up something, and didn't want to leave until it was done. But I'm here now."

Manny nodded. "Yeah, I understand, don't worry. What should we do first?" She asked as the pair began walking.

JT shrugged and took Manny's hand as they continued walking. "Want to see a movie or something?" He asked, referring to the new movie theater that had been built in the mall about six months ago. It was a huge attraction for everyone.

Manny nodded. "Sure, sounds like fun. I'll race you there." She said, releasing JT's hand and yelling, "Go!" and taking off running.

"Cheater!" JT called as he began running after her. Manny laughed and kept running. JT was catching up to her easily. A moment later, he was right behind her and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Now, who's the cheater? Stopping your opponent from running?" Manny laughingly teased.

JT laughed as well. "Well, you started it, Miss Santos. I just got to finish it." They were almost to the theater by now, a few feet away, when Manny stopped dead in her tracks, causing JT (who was holding her hand again) to jerk back. He looked at the girl's face and saw a look of utter shock with traces of hurt. "Manny? What's wrong? Are you okay?"And, just like that, she was out of her trance. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just don't feel like seeing a movie after all. Can we go get something to eat instead?"

JT nodded. "Of course, but why?"Manny didn't answer, just gave him a desperate look, telling him she didn't want to say anything else about it. He let the subject drop and they walked away from the theater, but before it was completely out of sight, the boy turned around to see what had gotten into his girlfriend, and saw Craig Manning and Ashley Kerwin in line for movie tickets. He knew not to bring it up again.

They reached the food court and got in line for food, as they were waiting, JT pulled out his money and looked at Manny. She seemed distracted. "Manny? Is everything okay?"Manny snapped out of her daze again and nodded. "Yeah, it's fine. I'm fine. Sorry." She said, quickly. She was thinking about Craig and Ashley and how happy they looked. But she knew she needed to stop. If she didn't, JT could leave her, too. And she didn't want that. Not when he was her boyfriend and best friend and her feelings for him were still growing.

She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She looked like she had seen a ghost. And her outfit (jeans, a purple shirt, and black flats) that looked cute on her when she put it on to go to the mall earlier, now seemed to look stupid and wrong. And her dark, curly hair looked frizzy and unruly. "God, I look like a mess." She said softly, mostly to herself.

JT looked at her and squeezed her hand. "I think you look great. But then again, you always look great. It's like you don't even try."Manny smiled and felt herself warm at his words. They were at the front of the line now, and JT ordered a burger and cheese fries and Manny the same. JT paid the cashier the money and they picked a table to eat at.

After they sat down and began eating, JT put his burger down and looked at Manny. "I'm glad you agreed to go out with me. I wasn't sure you liked me the way I like you."

Manny smiled. "Of course I like you, JT. You're great. Don't worry." And it was true. She did like him. A lot more than she originally thought. JT smiled and the pair went back to eating and talking and laughing.

After they finished, Manny needed to get going, because she was staying the night at Emma's and had told her she would be at her house by three. So the couple began walking hand-in-hand toward the door, when they saw a photo booth. JT turned to his girlfriend, smiling.

"JT… no. I have to go." She said weakly, they both knew she didn't mean it. JT pulled her over to the booth and the pair climbed inside. JT paid the machine the two dollars and they selected their framing (It said "Puppy Love" on it) and did their first pose - giving each other bunny ears. When the camera flashed they moved to their next one - making silly faces. The camera flashed again and they moved to their next one - just smiling at the camera. The camera flashed and they moved into their last pose - hugging and Manny smiling at the camera and JT kissing her cheek. The camera flashed and the two climbed out of the booth, waiting for their pictures.

"That was fun." Manny said as the two strips of pictures came out. She grabbed them both and handed one of them to him before looking at them. "Wow, these turned out great."JT nodded and looked at his strip. "Yeah. You look good on film, too, it's amazing."Manny smiled and rolled her eyes, before playfully punching JT's arm and taking his hand as they began walking out of the mall again.

They were standing on Emma's porch, getting ready to say goodnight. "Bye, JT. I had a lot of fun today. Thanks for suggesting it." She said, smiling.

JT shrugged, also smiling. "No problem. I just wanted to see my girlfriend outside of school without our friends always with us. It was selfish, really." He said and they both laughed.

Manny moved closer and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. JT hugged her back. They stayed like that before pulling away and kissing quickly. JT pulled completely away and said a quick goodbye before starting to walk back to his car. Manny smiled and waved as he got into the car and his grandma drove away. She kept smiling to herself as she went inside.

Emma was sitting on her couch by the window when her dark haired best friend walked in. "I still don't see what you see in JT, Manny. He's nothing like Craig."

Manny didn't say anything for a moment, her mind instantly going back to her relationship with Craig and how much pain he caused her, claiming he loved her. He had hurt her so badly and she still came back to him, even though, deep down, he probably didn't care about her at all. Unlike JT. JT was always nice to her, complimented her, and cared whether she was happy or not.

She looked at her blonde best friend, still smiling, and simply said, "That's why I like him." And it was true. It was because JT wasn't like Craig that Manny liked him how she did.

Emma shrugged and the two walked to her room to begin their sleepover, Manny's thoughts still on JT and how much fun she had at the mall that day.

_Fin_

**I'm not sure how I feel about this. It seemed much better in my head. But I LOVED JT and Manny together! They were so adorable and should've been endgame. I know there aren't a lot of J(T)anny shippers, but please give this a chance.**

**And, I've been wanting to write a series of oneshots about AU **_**Degrassi **_**couples. What do you guys think? Let me know!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**Degrassi**_**, if I did, JT/Manny, Sean/Ellie, Craig/Ashley, and either Spinner/Paige or Paige/Alex would've been endgame**


End file.
